This invention relates to telephone answering machines and, more particularly, to an answering machine for a video telephone. In a preferred embodiment, the video answering machine is built into a dual-deck video cassette recorder to share the components thereof and provide additional capability thereto. More specifically, it relates to a dual-deck VCR including answering machine logic whereby the VCR can also be used to answer a video telephone system. The video cassette decks of the VCR are switched between and are shared by the VCR and telephone answering functions. The VCR can be switched between its answering mode of operation and its VCR mode of operation by a remote controller.
Telephone answering systems for answering the telephone and recording a message when the telephone is unattended are well known in the art and used extensively in home and business. As shown in FIG. 1, the typical telephone answering machine 10 is connected to a telephone 12 with a cable 14 containing the "tip" and "ring" pair of a telephone line on one side and is connected to an incoming telephone line 16 (i.e. a tip and ring pair) on the other side. The answering machine 10 typically contains two audio tape drives 18, 20 containing audio tapes 22, 24, respectively. Sometimes a single tape and drive is employed using a front portion of the tape for the pre-recorded outgoing message and a back portion to record incoming messages. Functionally, the two approaches are the same with the use of two tapes being easier to implement. To use the machine 10, the user records an outgoing message on one tape 22. When the machine 10 is subsequently turned on and an incoming call rings in on the telephone line 16, the machine "answers" the call and plays the message on the tape 22 which advises the caller that the machine 10 is answering and will record a message for the caller. If the caller remains on the line and does not hang up, any message spoken will be recorded on tape 24 for later playing by the user to retrieve the message recorded thereon.
The video telephone system 26 of FIG. 2 is just becoming available on a limited commercial basis and will gain popularity in the coming years as the systems become less costly through mass production and general availability. The system 26 comprises a telephone 12 having a video unit 28 connected between a cable 14' and an incoming telephone line 16 in a manner similar to that of the answering machine 10 of FIG. 1. The video unit 28 includes a video camera 30 for viewing a user thereof and a monitor 32 for displaying what the video camera 30 of a calling system 26 is viewing. Thus, both parties to a conversation employing the system 26 can see each other. At present, however, there is no video answering machine providing the benefits of the answering machine 10 of FIG. 1 with full voice and video capability for use with the system 26 of FIG. 2. The reason for employing a video phone is to be able to see the caller as well as speak to him/her. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a video telephone answering machine which could be used by owners and users of video telephone systems. A video telephone answering machine would, because of the cost of the parts necessary to be incorporated therein, be a high cost item. Therefore, it would be desirable to incorporate the video telephone answering machine into another device providing additional benefits so as to lower the apparent cost to the user for individual ones of the benefits.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a video telephone answering machine which could be used by owners and users of video telephone systems to provide full video and audio outgoing and incoming messages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a video telephone answering machine which is incorporated into another device providing additional benefits so as to lower the apparent cost to the user for individual ones of the benefits.
It is still another object of the present invention to incorporate a video telephone answering machine into a dual-deck video cassette recorder to share the major components thereof.
Other objects and benefits of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows hereinafter when taken in conjunction with the drawing figures which accompany it.